Hermann Balck

"Chuck Spinney, a close colleague of Boyd’s, tells of sitting in on an interview Boyd conducted in the early 1980s with two German generals, Hermann Balck, whom the Germans regarded as one of their top field commanders, and his chief of staff, F. W. von Mellenthin. Boyd set out a simple scenario and then asked Balck to show him how he and von Mellenthin worked together in the field. Balck asked von Mellenthin for his assessment and then sat with an intent but perfectly blank expression while von Mellenthin play-acted a response. Balck immediately made his decision, whereupon he became expressive and highly animated. Suddenly he was back at the front and trying to convey quickly and completely what he wanted done. Spinney concluded that during the appreciation phase, Balck was closely observing von Mellenthin, but was also careful not to influence von Mellenthin by even the smallest gesture. During the leadership phase, he was trying to ensure that he did influence von Mellenthin as strongly and as quickly as possible, using a mixture of verbal and physical cues that von Mellenthin had learned to interpret, and leaving quite a bit unspoken."

"General Hermann Balck, whom Boyd regarded as one of World War II’s best field commanders and whose rifle regiment was one of the first across the Meuse during the Blitzkrieg, put it, “The…"